My First Day Of Body Pump, or: ARRRGGHHH!

Ow.

Ow ow.

Ow.

Man oh man did I get a butt kicking today.

Today was the first day of going to an exercise class known as Body Pump. For those of you not in the know, it's a combination of cardio aerobics and weight lifting set to music. The classes are an hour long, and during that hour you begin to have a slight smidgeon of an idea of what hell is like. You start to really appreciate the idea of damnation. We did lunges, squats, bench presses, push ups, crunches, dead lifts and a multitude of other exercises with and without the barbell.

Did I mention I was the only dude in the class?

Yeah. My dignity took a slight punch when I saw girls smaller than my legs lifting more weight than me, and who had better form on their push ups. The instructor was super cool, however and was patient in explaining what to do, so I'd have good form and not hurt myself.

It was intense. More intense than I remember from way back in 2006. Right now my legs are shaky, my arms are kinda trembly and I am not looking forward to the soreness which I will be experiencing tomorrow.

But...

I feel GOOD. Really good. I know the work I put in today was the next step in my journey and that combined with regular cardio work, I am going to get to where I need to be. It's amazing to me that something which hurts so much can make you feel like a million bucks afterwords. Wednesday, it will be one week that I've been working out, and I absolutely love it. My whole day revolves around going to the gym when I get off work. I look forward to it, I crave the feeling I get knowing that I'm doing something for myself that no one else could do for me. I am resolute, and I am strong, and I am sore. So sore. But happy. I'm actually looking forward to my next Body Pump class, which will probably be Wednesday. I want to go back in there, pick up that freaking dumbbell and own that workout. It probably won't happen this week or next, but I will master this class. I will be the Body Pumpingest sonofagun you've ever seen. I'll look back at this blog post and laugh in the face of my ancient soreness, and I'll rest comfortably in the fact that I achieved my goals.

What's the moral of today's story? Some say pain is weakness leaving the body. I say pain is pretty much just pain, but you don't have to be a sissy about it.


Now, as promised, I here is the recipe for those delicious little pumpkin carrot loaves that Julie prepared this past weekend. This is actually a muffin recipe, but you can put the batter into small bread loaves if you so desire. They are quite tasty.


1 cup pumpkin (I've only been able to find it at Super 1 year round)
2/3 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp oil (while extra virgin olive oil is healthiest, canola bakes better)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated carrots (I chop mine in a small electric chopper)
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

Beat together pumpkin, brown sugar, oil and egg.

Add in carrots.

In a separate bowl, blend together flour, salt, soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to the pumpkin mixture.

Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-14 minutes.


That's it for tonight everyone. Tomorrow should be interesting, because I'm going to go visit the office of the doctor that my pal Jeff visited so I can see if they'll let me borrow their scale. I want to know just where I stand as far as my weight goes. I'm kinda scared. I'll let you all know what happens.

Until then, stay safe, stay happy, and be nice to each other.